AP Japanese - Advanced Nuance & Grammar Structures

Front

Distinguish: bakari vs. bakari ni (vs. dake)

Back

-bakari (Verb-Dictionary) means “nothing but X” or “tends to do X,” often with a negative nuance, and -bakari (Verb-Ta) means “just finished doing X.” -bakari ni is used with amounts to mean “as much as” or “up to,” while dake means neutral “only X” / “just X.”

Front

Conditional Nuance: -tara vs. -ba vs. -nara vs. -to

Back

-tara: General/accidental 'if/when' (focus on result). -ba: Contextual 'if' (focus on condition). -nara: Contextual 'if' (focus on subject; 'If speaking of X...'). -to: Invariable/automatic result 'when' (e.g., natural laws or habitual actions, cannot be command/request).

Front

Give vs. Receive: Agatsu (kureru) vs. Kudasaru

Back

-Kureru: Someone (inferior/equal) gives to me/my in-group (casual). -Kudasaru: Someone (superior) gives to me/my in-group (honorific). Context: 'Sensei ga kureta' (incorrect) vs 'Sensee ga kudasatta' (correct).

Front

Intransitive vs. Transitive Pairs (aru/iru vs. oku)

Back

Aru/iru express existence or state of being: aru is used for inanimate things, and iru is used for animate beings. Oku means “to place” or “put,” so it is a different transitive verb and not the intransitive existence verb pair.

Front

Partially Continuing Action: -kiru vs. -kakeru

Back

-kiru: To do something completely; to finish/consume it all (e.g., eat up everything). -kakeru: To be halfway through / in the middle of doing something, not yet finished (e.g., halfway through reading). Usage: yomikiru = read through completely; yomikakeru = start reading / be partway through reading.